The Fork in the Road

The New York Yankees’ catcher/folk philosopher reportedly advised: “If you come to a fork in the road, take it!” Currently all humanity confronts a ‘fork in the road’ – prospects of a nuclear holocaust or continuation of civilization. We and all plants and animals depend upon which of these paths we collectively choose to travel. Death or life depends upon our wisdom, adaptability, and sense of urgency. The present war-making route is downhill, familiar, and profitable for the military-industrial complex. The other path is a great challenge with many uncertainties. There will be bends in the road, hills and mountains to climb, bogs that might swamp us, woods in which we may become lost. We face the choice of a human- made Armageddon or the promise of a rainbow over a peaceful world.

In earlier epochs of homo sapiens, hunting/ gathering cultures in small bands often practiced exogamy. Persons in one tribe married into adjacent groups, thereby minimizing inter-group strife. Among some Eskimos, intra-group conflicts were resolved with drum dances and singing, with those assembled deciding which group gave the better performance! Among some small tribes, conflicts often ended when first blood was drawn. Weapons were hand-made, and adversaries confronted each other face-to-face. Over time, in ancient cultures (e.g., Persian, Roman, Greek, Mongol) new weapons such as cavalry and catapults were added, and casualties mounted. Our Civil War brought hundreds of thousands of deaths when cannon were added to hand-to-hand combat. Even with airplanes, World Wars I and II still relied heavily on person-to-person combat in the trenches.

Over time, civilian casualties in war have come to far outnumber military deaths and injuries. Ken Burns’ new film, “War,” tells us that 100 million died in WWII. Today, with the development of drone planes, robots that can fire around corners, space- directed weaponry, and an increasing array of means to deliver death, war has become increasingly abominable. As an instrument of national foreign policies, war should be recognized as obsolete. It creatively resolves no problems, only exacerbates them, wastes scarce resources and devastates all life.

Yet we proceed down the ‘war-as-a-solution’ pathway. As land mines, cluster bombs, saturation carpet bombing, and chemical and germ warfare are used indiscriminately, war becomes increasingly technological and impersonal. According to William Safire, current high-tech warfare enables warriors to fly higher, carry more and bigger bombs, and cause more damage below – all with less guilt.

Yale psychiatrist, Jay Robert Lifton, coined the concept of ‘psychic numbness.’ When tragedies reach such magnitude in our psyche that we cannot embrace the horrors in mind and spirit, we understandably tend to shut down. We don’t want to think about it, can’t absorb it, and we despair.

In seeking to follow the peaceful path, we must retain hope. Slowing down global warming and its consequences is possible, giving us time to make the major adjustments in our world economy, politics and international collaborations. That is success. Yet major changes in individual behavior and through state, national and international deliberations will be required. That may seem impossible – like ‘straight-arming’ locomotives! But humanity must turn the switch and derail our war-based economy onto a siding! Failing that, we will not be able to direct full talents, energies, time and wisdom toward facing the vital life implications of global warming. We cannot straddle the alternatives that the ‘fork in the road’ presents us.

In a September 27, 2007 opinion piece in the New York Times, Vaclav Havel put our human dilemma this way: “Either we will achieve an awareness of our place in the living and life-giving organism of our planet, or we will face the threat that our evolutionary journey will be set back thousands or even millions of years. That is why we must see this issue as a challenge to behave responsibly and not as a harbinger for the end of the world…. We need not fear for our planet. It was here before us and most likely will be here after us.” All humanity is in this together. We all live on the same globe swirling in space. None of us can evade the consequences of failure to meet the challenge. As one Minnesota candidate contends, this is the most important decade in human history. Selecting the ‘right’ fork (which may be the ‘left’!), the peace movement has an historic opportunity to make a difference.


Previously published in the North Country Peace Builder, Minnesota Fellowship of Reconciliation, October 2007.

Our Nation's Myths

Most of us have difficulty seeing ourselves as others see us. Often we believe myths: that we are more honest, consistent, industrious, humorous, competent or courteous than we really are. Perhaps a little such inflation bolsters our self-worth and enables us to strive for those ideals.

Likewise, nations and cultural groups develop myths about themselves that boost their pride (read what they say about themselves in their history books!) . However, when these myths are far from reality, nations -- like individuals -- are apt to act inappropriately in response to challenges.

A few American myths, based on partial truths:

1) "We are a peace-loving nation." The military-related allotment exceeds 50% of the Congressional discretionary budget, higher than the combined military budgets of all our potential opponents. The US has intervened more than 75 times in Latin America, without declarations of war. US military conflicts since WW 11 include Korea, Vietnam, Santo Domingo, Grenada, Cuba, Libya, Cambodia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia, among others. Our history is violent concerning African Americans, Native Americans, immigrants. Our schools are being militarized by JROTC. We have demonized our "enemies" like Ortega, Castro, Saddam Hussein, North Korea, Iran, Chavez, among others. Virtually every day since WWI, our military has been in other countries.

2) "We wish to spread and strengthen democracy around the world." We confuse voting for democracy. Balance of powers is often missing. Though the country may have a "president," "Congress," and "judiciary," a free press, diverse views, free speech and the rights to organize, demonstrate and campaign, often are missing. We have selected and supported dictators: the Shah (Iran), Marcos (Philippines), Noriega (Panama), Kim/Chung/Park (South Korea), Suharto (Indonesia), and collaborated with military juntas (Uruguay and Argentina), among others. We undermine and overthrow governments: Allende (Chile), Arbenz (Guatemala), Lamumba (Congo), Mossadegh (Iran) , Ortega (Nicaragua), Castro (Cuba), Noriega (Panama), Saddam Hussein (Iraq).

3) "We believe in foreign aid and 'development' for other societies." We provide much less aid than a number of Scandinavian and other countries, per capita. Our aid usually has "strings" attached. Our dominance of the IMF, NAFTA, World Bank and WTO is to benefit "first world" banks and corporations that set the terms for the poorer, weaker nations. Recipients become more dependent NOT more self-sufficient. There are no protections for labor rights or environments.

4) "We are a law-abiding nation." We frequently ignore or violate international law: 40 year embargo on Cuba, numerous bombings and invasions (see above), overthrow of governments (above), ignoring decisions of the World Court (Nicaragua), continued maintenance of Puerto Rico as a colony, Japanese-American incarceration during WW II, and ignoring treaty conditions with Native Americans. We resist ratifying numerous international treaties: the International Criminal Court, Comprehensive Test Ban, Rights of the Child, Rio environmental agreements, Law of the Sea, Land Mine Ban, Kyotot Treaty, International Criminal Court, and others. In war we bomb civilian targets and use chemical weapons (Agent Orange, Vietnam; liquid phosphorous, Iraq).

We need to see ourselves as others see us if we are to get past our myths. Perhaps then we will reduce our arrogance and insensitivity and not be seen as a bully using muscle to get our way. Our arrogant attitudes toward "opponent" countries, unilateralism, double standards, and attitude of exceptionalism aggravate even nations we see as "friends."

Previously published in the North Country Peace Builder, Minnesota Fellowship of Reconciliation, Vol. 51, No. 1, March 2000